The Executive Director of INSTEPR, Kwadwo N. Poku, has urged fuel users to boycott the expensive insensitive Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and buy from the cheaper priced OMCs.
According to him, the cheaper priced OMCs are companies that are selling fuel around Ghs6.35 to Ghs 6. 50.
Kwadwo N. Poku averred that until Ghanaians patronize these cheaper fuels, the deregulation will not work, and that all fuel sold in Ghana at every fuel station are of the same quality.
“Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. This is a message NPA has repeated over and over,” he stated in a release last Saturday.
He, however, mentioned that if one wants to buy expensive fuel because he or she drives expensive car, that is a personal decision he or she is entitled to.
He was commenting on pricing in the industry as the country enters the last price review window before Christmas.
According to him, the international fuel prices have dropped from a high of $840 per MT for petrol to $685.
“At $840, the prices at the pumps were Ghs 6.9 per litre. The OMC’s marketer/dealer margin in this price was about 30 to 35 pesewas per litre. Everyone was blaming Government for high taxes. GPRTU threatened strike action, which made Goil reduce prices to Ghs 6.70,” Kwadwo N. Poku stated
The INSTEPR boss indicated that a lot of people did not know that Goil was able to reduce from GHs 6.90 to 6.70 because the international prices in that window had dropped.
Naturally, he explained, that they would have increased their Marketer’s margin instead of passing the reduction to Ghanaians.
He said “At today’s international price, using 6.4 cedi to Dollar rate, the petrol price at the pump should be Ghs 6.30. That is if the OMC keeps their Marketer’s margin Below 40 pesewas a litre. Goil is selling at Ghs 6.60 per litre meaning they have increased their Marketer’s margin above 60 pesewas per litre. Depriving Ghanaians of lower fuel prices.”
He also indicated that Fuel is an essential commodity and that these companies which are selling fuel at high costs are not putting their customers first but their profits and yet they tend to blame Government for higher taxes resulting in expensive fuel.
In view of this, he said Ghanaians should also blame these insensitive OMCs that always blaming government.
